“Ireland’s reputation as a quality location for international study leaves much to be desired: as a result it is failing to take advantage of quite a special opportunity. Why special? Because international students are increasingly seeking out English-speaking countries, and, of course, the only two options available in Europe are the UK or Ireland. But the UK is winning hands down …” (more)

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 07:13 and is filed under Teaching.
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One Response to “Overseas students put off by our tarnished image”

When I was applying to study abroad, I attempted to find a way to study in Ireland but the majority of Irish university have been very chary with their student exchange agreements to other universities. Instead I had to settle for as close as I could get to studying in Ireland which meant Northern Ireland (I studied at the University of Ulster).

It was surprising to me that even the North with its problematic reputation was quicker to attract students than any universities in Ireland simply because they were willing to accept seemingly all students as long as they were capable of doing the work and were interested in studying at their universities. Are Irish universities being conservative in their bid for international students because they’re being choosy or is it a lack of interest in cultivating the contacts necessary to have a thriving international student program?

I’m attempting to apply to Trinity, UCD, UU, and Queens for graduate school in literature and as much as I would love to study at Trinity or UCD, the Northern Irish universities seem to have much better prepared international student programs which is a big comfort when making the decision to spend money on schooling overseas.